Scott Ferguson, who has been with Pershing Square Capital Management since before day one, is leaving the hedge fund to found a hedge fund of his own.

The first analyst that Pershing Square founder William Ackman hired plans to launch an activist firm similar to the one he's worked at for almost nine years. Ferguson, who was hired in September 2003, four months before Pershing Square's debut, will leave the New York-based firm by the end of the month, Pershing Square told investors.

Ferguson's still unnamed fund will seek value opportunities and push for changes at investment companies. It is expected to debut next year, Bloomberg News reports.

In the letter, Ackman said he agreed that the time had come for Ferguson to start his own firm.

"In recent years, Scott and I have discussed the potential for him to leave Pershing Square and form his own firm," Ackman wrote. "Recently, Scott and I concluded that now, at 38 years of age (I launched Pershing Square just shy of 38), would be a good time for him to take the next step in his career."

Ferguson, who is now a partner at Pershing Square, handles research across industries at the firm. Pershing Square's clients may also still profit from his work, as Ackman said he and Ferguson could work together on activist cases, as he has done with former Pershing Square partner Mick McGuire's Marcato Capital Management.

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